Today, I’ve added another category to my blog: Small Business 101. When I opened my shop there was a lot of information out there, groups, marketing specialists, retired people – almost all of it felt not right. And while I am fully aware that your personality shapes your business to a great amount, I also believe that there are mistakes nobody needs to make and that there are things that EVERYONE should do. This is where my business 101 comes in!

I want to be one opinionated woman who doles out advice.

You did not ask for it and I do not claim to be right about the stuff I am going to write. As I said, some things might perfectly fit me and not another person who goes about life in a different way. I do welcome comments.

This Monday, I was at the local trade show. I had a good, substantial breakfast that would tie me over for at least 4 hours. You need that. Going to a trade show turns out to be far more exhausting than you thought. And you always buy more than you wanted. That’s me. Maybe there are some people who only target their proven lines and only go to their showrooms AND have a budget in mind. That is not me. Part of me knew what I was going to buy. Socks. As it turned out, I wrote a M U C H larger order than I have money for. I guess it would be helpful to either have a budget in mind OR at least a calculator so that you can faint right there and not back at the store.

What I really want to say is this, though: Know what sells at your store. Know it down to the percentages. If it does not move or you don’t sell enough of it, drop the line. The way to know this relatively easy when you know how to interpret your sales. A good software helps but not all of us can afford a POS system. If you have more than one year under your belt, pick a random month and look at the sales for the entire year. If the line (or item) does well all year round AND is strong throughout the year, keep it. If not, part with it.